Fashioning the Future
by Jordan Codispoti and Fi Porco
On our final day in Perugia, March 20, before our departure to Rome, we once again visited our friends at the Giordano Bruno High School to continue researching the next generation of fashion in Italy.
To recap, the Giordano Bruno High School offers a unique fashion track where students can specialize and curate their education about all things and everything “fashion.” From fashion history, to design, to economy, to working with the textiles themselves, this school offers a unique preparation to young people hoping to pursue the industry. Many people attending this high school pursue careers at world-renowned Brunello Cucinelli’s production center for luxurious garments. In fact the day before our visit we met someone at Cucinelli who had attended the high school.
Our visit began with a presentation on inclusivity in Italy. We learned how the Italian constitution in 1948 was founded upon principles of equality regardless of class, gender, race, or ability. This is reflected in the education system’s requirement to provide services to all. Certain educational laws have been passed in the Italian Republic, to improve the effectiveness of schooling for those who may learn differently, especially post-1977 as that was when rights were explicitly given to individuals with disabilities. The most recent law was passed in 2020 to promote the distinction between disability and disease. The school said this law has had a particular influence on the curriculum as this approach is taken with the student’s education.
After learning about what inclusivity looks like in the Italian educational system, we had the privilege of sitting down with the students themselves to gain a deeper understanding of not only their curriculum but of what exactly fashion means to them and the role fashion plays in their lives.
From the students’ perspectives, we were given insight into the field they all have a passion for studying. When asked what fashion is to them, some gave simple sentiments of personal expression while others looked deeper. One girl remarked, “Fashion is yours and you create it yourself. Fashion is in nature and all the little things.” “A type of art you can’t explain,” another student added, “something you make your own. Fashion is a movement” A more poetic response from the group was that fashion is what surrounds us, we are all sponges, and we soak up all that we see.
In return as well, the students had many cultural curiosities about the United States. They asked us about what fashion meant in our schools and work. They asked us as well about stereotypes and what we think about Italians, and we exchanged thoughts and ideas.
In an educational environment such as this, the students are absorbing fashion and art everywhere they look. From class to class, they can make connections between their work now and their futures. Some aspire to go to university to study design or fashion marketing, while others plan to channel their creativity in other sectors such as psychology or the military.
While they are thankful to be learning artistic skills and theories of the industry, they find it boring at times and that it can lack creativity. We are not sure what high schooler doesn’t feel this way at one point or another, but it was surprising to hear from such a cool and unique fashion program as this. We acknowledge that school does not come without its faults, but we understand that this is just a reality of high school. The students think about fashion in a very abstract and personal way, but their program is centered on the traditional technical aspects of the design process and industry. Their perspective was invaluable in our research, and we are lucky to have made such amazing intercultural connections, and true friends, in the process.
